Story By: BRENT OTCHERE / OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY – OHSWEKEN, ONT – Slack Lumber presented Christmas in July on Friday at Ohsweken Speedway; Ryan Turner, Brett Stratford, Ryan Beagle, and Alex Riley took A-Main wins.
Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars
Darren Dryden started on pole alongside Kyle Phillips to take the green flag for the 25 lap 360 Sprint Car A-Main. Dryden had the race under control as he led the first half of the race, however D.J. Christie began to close the gap on his lead. Christie was experimenting with different lines and trying to find a faster way around the track, however he bit off more than he could chew on lap ten in the exit of turn four; Christie got over the edge and almost hit the outside wall, clipping Dylan Westbrook when he came back on track. Westbrook’s car suffered severe front suspension damage which retired him from the race. Christie was able to carry on with little to no damage done to his car.
Ryan Turner took full advantage of the restart, slotting himself comfortably in the second position. Lap 17 saw the second and final caution flag fall, once again allowing Ryan Tuner to have another strong restart. Turner was able to overtake Dryden for the lead with a handful of laps left to go and pick up his second win of the year. Rounding out the top five were Dryden in second, Mitch Brown third, Holly Porter fourth, and Liam Martin fifth. Ryan Turner now leads the 360 Sprint Car track championship standings over Liam Martin by 44 points.
Strickland’s Crate Sprint Cars
Brett Stratford and Sheldon Bender brought the field to the green flag for the 20 lap Crate Sprint Car A-Main. Stratford led the first lap just before two early caution flags. Stratford was able to open more than two seconds over the field until his lead was extinguished by yet another caution. The restart of the race saw Will Marche immediately bring out the red flag as he clobbered the back stretch wall, flipping and losing the left rear wheel in the process. The safety crew arrived quickly at the wreck and confirmed that Marche didn’t suffer any major injuries.
The final caution flag came just two laps later. Stratford had successfully defended his lead in all five restarts; this consistency was the winning move which saw him secure his second win of his career in dominating fashion, leading every lap of the race. To round out the top five were Jesse Costa in second, Steve Murdock third, John Cadman fourth, and Rob Neely fifth. Costa now leads the Crate Sprint Car track championship standings over Mack DeMan by seven points.
Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks
The front row of the grid featured Travis Whittal and Mike Klazinga to begin the 20 lap Thunder Stock A-Main. Klazinga led the first six laps ahead of the frenzy that was the mid pack. The inevitable caution came out on lap six and saw championship contender Kyle Wert suffer damage which put him multiple laps down. Ryan Dinning took over the lead on the restart, only to have Dave Bailey take it away on the next lap.
The mid field featured heated racing as positions were being made and lost, however all this excitement brought out another caution. Ryan Beagle used the restart to slot himself in second, chasing down the leader. The final caution came out late into the race, setting up a shootout between Bailey and Beagle for the win. Beagle was able to edge out Bailey by 0.214 seconds to claim his fourth win of the season. Crossing the finish line next to complete the top five were Bailey in second, Dinning third, Trevor DeBoer fourth, and Mark Fawcett fifth. Dave Bailey now leads the championship standings over Kyle Wert by 10 points.
HRW Automotive Mini Stocks
Niko Hansen started on pole with Shawn Taylor next to him for the 15 lap Mini Stock A-Main. Hansen quickly put a sizable lead over the field as he began to encounter traffic by lap seven. Ashton Dickie used the traffic to get around Hansen and assume the lead, while Alex Riley followed through to snag the second position.
The race was running clean and green, however a battle between the two leaders became dicey as paint was swapped on the last lap. As Riley had half a car length advantage over Dickie entering the final corners, Dickie sent one final lunge for the lead, but the move proved to be fruitless as Riley claimed his second victory of season. Dickie had to settle for second, while Wayde Thorne finished in third, Hansen fourth, and Ryan Hillar fifth. Hillar now leads the championship standings over Mike Sarantakos by 32 points.
Up Next at Ohsweken Speedway
Insta-Panels presents Memorial Night featuring the Noelle Teal Memorial Twin 14’s for the Strickland’s Crate Sprint Cars, Brock Leonard Memorial 50 for the Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks, and Art Hill Memorial 42 for the HRW Automotive Mini Stocks on Friday, August 4. The event will also feature a special race with all three divisions called Noah’s Dash in memory of Noah Thomas. The Thunder Stock and Mini Stock events serve as combined races for the 2023 Insta-Panels Duel on the Dirt series.
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Ohsweken Speedway Statistical Report
Friday, July 28, 2023
Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada
Christmas in July Presented by Slack Lumber
Total Entries: 110
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Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars (23 Entries)
A-Main [Started] 25 laps – NT
1. 15-Ryan Turner[4]; 2. 12DD-Darren Dryden[1]; 3. 10-Mitch Brown[8]; 4. 1-Holly Porter[5]; 5. 9-Liam Martin[15]; 6. 17X-Cory Turner[14]; 7. 5-DJ Christie[3]; 8. 21K-Kyle Phillips[2]; 9. 88H-Josh Hansen[13]; 10. 19D-Allan Downey[19]; 11. 71-Mike Bowman[10]; 12. 45-Nick Sheridan[7]; 13. 0-Glenn Styres[17]; 14. 70-Baily Heard[6]; 15. 21-John Burbridge Jr[21]; 16. 7-Eric Gledhill[9]; 17. 77T-Tyeller Powless[12]; 18. 11-Jamie Turner[16]; 19. 46-Kevin Pauls[20]; 20. 81-Derek Jonathan[18]; 21. (DNF) 47X-Dylan Westbrook[11]; 22. (DNF) 94X-Scott Hall[22]; 23. (DNS) 87X-Shone Evans
Hard Charger – Liam Martin +10
Heat Race 1 [Started] 8 laps – 1:53.957
1. 1-Holly Porter[4]; 2. 70-Baily Heard[1]; 3. 12DD-Darren Dryden[6]; 4. 10-Mitch Brown[7]; 5. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[8]; 6. 0-Glenn Styres[5]; 7. 21-John Burbridge Jr[2]; 8. (DNF) 87X-Shone Evans[3]
Heat Race 2 [Started] 8 laps – 1:57.193
1. 45-Nick Sheridan[3]; 2. 21K-Kyle Phillips[1]; 3. 7-Eric Gledhill[4]; 4. 71-Mike Bowman[6]; 5. 11-Jamie Turner[2]; 6. 9-Liam Martin[8]; 7. 19D-Allan Downey[7]; 8. 94X-Scott Hall[5]
Heat Race 3 [Started] 8 laps – 1:54.578
1. 15-Ryan Turner[2]; 2. 5-DJ Christie[1]; 3. 77T-Tyeller Powless[3]; 4. 88H-Josh Hansen[5]; 5. 17X-Cory Turner[6]; 6. 81-Derek Jonathan[4]; 7. 46-Kevin Pauls[7]
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Strickland’s Crate Sprint Cars (30 Entries)
A-Main [Started] 25 laps – NT
1. BS39-Brett Stratford[1]; 2. 52-Jesse Costa[5]; 3. 2M-Steve Murdock[7]; 4. 71C-John Cadman[26]; 5. 74-Rob Neely[3]; 6. 72-Tanner Podwinski[8]; 7. 97-Sheldon Bender[2]; 8. 45-Curtis Gartly[10]; 9. 50LS-Adrian Stahle[4]; 10. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[19]; 11. 28T-Cameron Thomson[16]; 12. 16X-Keegan Baker[6]; 13. 00-Greg Smulders[23]; 14. 9C-Brian Nanticoke[29]; 15. 3S-Austin Roes[13]; 16. 29W-Tyler Ward[15]; 17. 51-Trevor Young[21]; 18. 14-Larry Gledhill[17]; 19. 85C-Cam MacKinnon[24]; 20. 69K-Ken Hamilton[18]; 21. 2-Travis Hofstetter[22]; 22. 11W-Brennen Hagar[25]; 23. 88-Lance Erskine[11]; 24. 2S-Al Sleight[14]; 25. 24K-Kiana Teal[30]; 26. (DNF) 19-Will Marche[20]; 27. (DNF) MK8-Matt Hill[9]; 28. (DNF) 24A-AJ Lewis[12]; 29. (DNF) 20-Johnny Miller[28]; 30. (DNS) 94-Ryan Fraser
Hard Charger – John Cadman +22
Heat Race 1 [Started] 8 laps – NT
1. 72-Tanner Podwinski[2]; 2. 16X-Keegan Baker[4]; 3. 24A-AJ Lewis[1]; 4. 88-Lance Erskine[5]; 5. 3S-Austin Roes[7]; 6. 69K-Ken Hamilton[6]; 7. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[8]; 8. 51-Trevor Young[9]; 9. (DNF) 94-Ryan Fraser[3]; 10. (DNS) 9C-Brian Nanticoke:
Heat Race 2 [Started] 8 laps – 2:05.984
1. 97-Sheldon Bender[2]; 2. MK8-Matt Hill[1]; 3. 50LS-Adrian Stahle[6]; 4. 74-Rob Neely[9]; 5. 29W-Tyler Ward[4]; 6. 28T-Cameron Thomson[7]; 7. 2-Travis Hofstetter[5]; 8. 85C-Cam MacKinnon[8]; 9. 11W-Brennen Hagar[10]; 10. (DNF) 20-Johnny Miller[3]
Heat Race 3 [Started] 8 laps – 2:02.575
1. 52-Jesse Costa[1]; 2. 2M-Steve Murdock[2]; 3. 45-Curtis Gartly[4]; 4. BS39-Brett Stratford[7]; 5. 14-Larry Gledhill[3]; 6. 2S-Al Sleight[8]; 7. 00-Greg Smulders[5]; 8. 19-Will Marche[9]; 9. 71C-John Cadman[6]; 10. 24K-Kiana Teal[10]
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Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks (28 Entries)
A-Main [Started] 20 laps – NT
1. 84RK-Ryan Beagle[19]; 2. 49-Dave Bailey[18]; 3. 8-Ryan Dinning[13]; 4. 23-Trevor DeBoer[14]; 5. 32-Mark Fawcett[15]; 6. 97-Ron Loggie[10]; 7. 24-Mike Klazinga[2]; 8. 24R-Rodney Rutherford[8]; 9. 427-Tim Phalen[4]; 10. 55-Mike Thorne[12]; 11. 53-Logan Shwedyk[11]; 12. 28-Jim Lampman[6]; 13. 25-Ken Sargent[5]; 14. 93-Melissa Miller[25]; 15. 03-George Grosul[24]; 16. 41-Adam Plazek[20]; 17. 17W-Travis Whittal[1]; 18. 37-Robert Hoskins[7]; 19. 76-Jamie Goudge[23]; 20. 19-Kyle Wert[17]; 21. (DNF) 79-Christopher Hale[9]; 22. (DNF) 28D-Donny Lampman[3]; 23. (DNF) 96O-John Overholt[21]; 24. (DNF) 07-Scott McPhail[16]; 25. (DNF) 28J-Jordan Hill[26]; 26. (DNF) 43-Kyle Andress[28]; 27. (DNF) 11-Gofast Teeple[22]; 28. (DNS) 13-Kacey Huffman
Hard Charger – Ryan Beagle +18
Heat Race 1 [Started] 10 laps – 3:17.915 NTR
1. 8-Ryan Dinning[10]; 2. 28D-Donny Lampman[4]; 3. 25-Ken Sargent[6]; 4. 79-Christopher Hale[8]; 5. 49-Dave Bailey[13]; 6. 24-Mike Klazinga[3]; 7. 37-Robert Hoskins[7]; 8. 41-Adam Plazek[14]; 9. 53-Logan Shwedyk[9]; 10. 07-Scott McPhail[12]; 11. 96O-John Overholt[1]; 12. 76-Jamie Goudge[11]; 13. (DNF) 93-Melissa Miller[5]; 14. (DNS) 13-Kacey Huffman
Heat Race 2 [Started] 10 laps – 3:18.609
1. 28-Jim Lampman[6]; 2. 19-Kyle Wert[12]; 3. 427-Tim Phalen[5]; 4. 32-Mark Fawcett[11]; 5. 17W-Travis Whittal[2]; 6. 24R-Rodney Rutherford[7]; 7. 97-Ron Loggie[8]; 8. 84RK-Ryan Beagle[13]; 9. 55-Mike Thorne[9]; 10. 23-Trevor DeBoer[10]; 11. 11-Gofast Teeple[3]; 12. 03-George Grosul[1]; 13. 28J-Jordan Hill[14]; 14. (DNF) 43-Kyle Andress[4]
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HRW Automotive Mini Stocks (29 Entries)
A-Main [Started] 15 laps – 5:26.693
1. 17-Alex Riley[18]; 2. 1A-Ashton Dickie[12]; 3. 4-Wayde Thorne[29]; 4. 27-Niko Hansen[1]; 5. 21H-Ryan Hillar[10]; 6. 9-Tim DeBoer[14]; 7. 11E-Jeff Elsliger[16]; 8. 01-Tristan DaSilva[9]; 9. 4A-Mason Anderson[15]; 10. 14L-John Lubeck[7]; 11. 24-Lofton Schuts[25]; 12. 1-Jason Tolton[5]; 13. 6X-Mike Sarantakos[8]; 14. 79-Steve Miller[4]; 15. 32L-Grayden Lyons[23]; 16. 14DD-Dustin Duga[24]; 17. 9K-Kylie Dixon[22]; 18. 20J-Nathan Joyner[13]; 19. 11-Mike Giberson[27]; 20. (DNF) 54-Christopher French[6]; 21. (DNF) 76-Shawn Taylor[2]; 22. (DNF) 7B-Braden Keus[17]; 23. (DNF) 4S-Rob Sauder[21]; 24. (DNF) 66-Martin Schroder[11]; 25. (DNS) 88-Steve Conway; 26. (DNS) 09-Clinton Barrick; 27. (DNS) 84L-Kris Lawrence; 28. (DNS) 16-Fabio Olivieri; 29. (DNS) 52-Rick VanKleef
Hard Charger – Wayde Thorne +26
Heat Race 1 [Started] 8 laps – NT
1. 1A-Ashton Dickie[8]; 2. 17-Alex Riley[13]; 3. 27-Niko Hansen[1]; 4. 21H-Ryan Hillar[7]; 5. 9-Tim DeBoer[10]; 6. 54-Christopher French[5]; 7. 09-Clinton Barrick[15]; 8. 88-Steve Conway[2]; 9. 6X-Mike Sarantakos[6]; 10. 79-Steve Miller[4]; 11. 4S-Rob Sauder[14]; 12. 32L-Grayden Lyons[9]; 13. 24-Lofton Schuts[12]; 14. 11-Mike Giberson[3]; 15. (DNF) 4-Wayde Thorne[11]
Heat Race 2 [Started] 8 laps – NT
1. 11E-Jeff Elsliger[10]; 2. 4A-Mason Anderson[9]; 3. 14L-John Lubeck[4]; 4. 66-Martin Schroder[6]; 5. 01-Tristan DaSilva[5]; 6. 76-Shawn Taylor[1]; 7. 84L-Kris Lawrence[12]; 8. 7B-Braden Keus[11]; 9. 20J-Nathan Joyner[7]; 10. 1-Jason Tolton[3]; 11. 9K-Kylie Dixon[14]; 12. (DNF) 14DD-Dustin Duga[2]; 13. (DNF) 16-Fabio Olivieri[8]; 14. (DNS) 52-Rick VanKleef